NEW REGULATORY ERA IN EUROPE BEGINS

Abstract

BY THE BEGINNING of June, the shouting that had surrounded the rollout of the European Union's REACH chemicals regulatory program was all over. That's when the agency that will administer it—the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA)—opened its doors in Helsinki, Finland. REACH, which stands for Registration, Evaluation & Authorization of Chemicals, will standardize chemicals regulation throughout the 27-member EU. An estimated 30,000 chemicals and compounds will be affected, at an expected total cost of about $3 billion to the European chemical industry over the next 11 years. Geert Dancet, ECHA's acting executive director, on temporary assignment from the European Commission in Brussels, acknowledges the challenges in setting up what will be one of the most powerful agencies in Europe. He points out that ECHA one of the few agencies in the EU with the power to make binding decisions. ECHA is hiring, Dancet says. From about 20 people today, the staff is expected ...